To the Point
The Anthrax Letters: Should the Case be Closed?
Share |

The Anthrax Letters: Should the Case be Closed?

Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Podcast iTunes Podcast
Listen to/Watch entire show:
Listen Download Add to My Shows
Legacy Player: Listen

The prime suspect in the anthrax letters episode committed suicide, so he'll never be tried, but the Justice Department says he was guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." What's the evidence? Is it certain Dr. Bruce Ivins acted alone? Has the investigation made the country safer from biological terrorism? Also, President Bush criticizes China on the eve of the Olympics, and it's unclear who's in charge of Detroit today.  There is no Deputy Mayor, and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been sent to jail.

Banner image: Joseph Persichini (C), Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, with Jeff Taylor US Attorney for the District of Columbia (L), and Chief Postal Inspector Alexander Lazaroff of the US Postal Service (R), explains recent developments in the government's Amerithrax case

Making News

Bush Criticizes China on Eve of the Olympics ()

President Bush has arrived in Beijing for the opening of the Olympics, after a speech in Bangkok, praising Thailand as the "land of the free" and criticizing China's record on human rights. China responded by reminding the world it opposes outside interference when it comes to human rights.  Sheryl Gaye Stolberg covers the White House for the New York Times.

Guests:

Main Topic

Closing a Chapter on the 2001 Anthrax Scare ()

At a news conference yesterday, the Justice Department said Dr. Bruce Ivins was the only person with access to the strain of anthrax that killed five and panicked the nation after September 11. It claimed FBI evidence would have proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if he'd lived long enough to go on trial instead of committing suicide. Is the case against Ivins believable? Why did it take seven years? If Ivins suffered from mental illness for so long, why was he working with deadly toxins in a government laboratory?

 

Guests:
  • David Willman: Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times
  • Meryl Nass: Physician at Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, Maine
  • Rush Holt: Democratic Congressman from New Jersey’s 12th district
  • David Perlin: Professor and Interim Director, Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at the International Center for Public Health at the New Jersey Medical School
  • Jonathan Tucker: Professional staff member at the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation and Terrorism
Links:

Reporter's Notebook

Detroit Mayor Ordered To Jail ()

The Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, faces felony charges, including misconduct in office.  He was free on his own recognizance until last week, when Wayne County officials claimed he assaulted them when they tried to serve a subpoena. Today, Kilpatrick's $7500 cash bond was revoked and he was sent to jail for leaving the country without permission. It's not clear who's running the city.  Reporter Jim Schaefer of the Detroit Free Press was in the courtroom today.

Guests:
Links:

CD copies of To the Point are available by calling 1.888.600.5279.

Engage & Discuss

Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.

For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.